High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) therapy is a minimally invasive or non-invasive method used to deposit acoustic energy into tissue such as a tumor on the liver of a patient. In HIFU therapy, an HIFU beam is used to heat and destroy the tumor through ablation. During HIFU therapy of the liver, there is a high risk of collateral heating and thermal damage to healthy tissue adjacent to the liver such as, for example, ribs and tissue surrounding the ribs.
A linearly segmented HIFU transducer that includes elements arranged in strips may be used. Edge elements of the HIFU transducer that are aligned with the ribs may be deactivated to at least partially prevent collateral heating and thermal damage in the ribs. Alternatively, a two-dimensional (2D) phased array HIFU transducer that includes elements arranged in a 2D grid may be used. Elements of the 2D phased array HIFU transducer that are aligned with the ribs and a focal point of the 2D phased array HIFU transducer may be deactivated to at least partially prevent collateral heating and thermal damage in the ribs.